CFMEU Victoria boss John Setka arrested over alleged blackmail

CFMEU Victoria boss John Setka and his deputy Shaun Reardon have been arrested by police over alleged blackmail.

The men were arrested this morning, the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union confirmed in a statement.

The arrests were made as a part of the ongoing investigations led by the Royal Commission into Trade Union Corruption.

Police allege the men blackmailed concrete company Boral.

Dave Noonan, the union’s construction division national secretary, said the men will plead not guilty to the charges.

John Setka. (AAP file image) ()

He accused the police of “overkill” in relation the arrests.

“500 Swanston St is the address of the Victorian branch of the union where both men work from about 7am every week day. I thought the police might be able to Google that, but apparently not,” he said in a statement.

“The CFMEU has cooperated with every request from the Royal Commission and the police could have conducted their business at the office during working hours.

“The arrests were conducted in front of both families and reek of overkill.

“The community can only hope that the rest of the case against the men is made as public as these arrests.”

Mr Noonan accused the police of planning the arrests to “create maximum political damage”, and said the CFMEU was “disgusted” by the “politicisation” of police.

CFMEU supporters and John Setka. (AAP file images) ()

“The community expects more of the police. We should be able to trust that our police are not doing the grunt work of a Government desperate to mount an attack on the working rights of people in this country,” he said.

“The Federal Liberal Government has taken 57 police and assigned them to a taskforce whose only achievements to date include two theatrical raids whose legality is in doubt, the prolonged questioning and harassment of staff in their homes, the failed pursuit of Johnny Lomax without any evidence and now, the hyper-staged arrests of two senior officers of the union.”